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what is the theory behind maple stands and racks?

I have not "heard" a maple amp stand or rack - using Billy Bags products now, which are made from steel and mdf - but don't grasp why maple would be a good material to use - quite the opposite. Maple is used for some electric guitars because it "rings" - it is very dense and causes notes to sustain, which is to say, it continues to vibrate for a long time. This would seem to be exactly the opposite of what one wants in a stand or a rack. If there is some claim that vibration is "drained away", well, if the rack is continuing to ring, that would likely cause acoustical feedback - the equipment isn't isolated from the thing it is sitting on. Can anyone who is not a vendor of these things explain the why of it, or relate positive experiences that seem to have a basis in fact?
128x128lloydc
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>A lot of baseball bats are made with maple because of this<<

Actually most are made of ash.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Charlie Watts likes solid maple drums, I think he has them made in Maryland somewhere. Could be the maple preserves the dynamics without screwing up the tone, as might be the case with other materials like MDF. Maybe NASA or someone should do a full blown dynamic analysis to see why maple is good for sound.
mitch2
3,694 posts
 
Most pool cues are made of maple (at least the shaft portion), probably because the highish specific gravity leads to improved stiffness and a lower susceptibility to moisture related changes.

Many audio equipment platforms, etc. are made of maple because audiophiles believe they can hear a difference between an amp sitting on maple and one sitting on oak, and also because we receive a catalogue from "Mapleshade" and none from "Oakshade."
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
The trouble with oak is it is far too lofty and grab up all the light. Maples have been oppressed.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Maple is also used for quasi mystical reasons. .. i.e. there exists the urban legend that the old master luthiers like Stradivari, Guadagnini, Testori, Guarner, Amati, made their violins, violas, cellos mostly from maple. . . truth is that maple was frequently used, but only for instrument backs, and was often replaced by other inexpensive local timber, like poplar, nowdays relagated to constructing orange crates.

Why not experiment with other inexpensive hard timber in racks? Lyptus for example is slightly harder and denser than maple, mechanically as stable, and slightly inexpensive. Ype is even harder, heavier, and even less expensive. . . and then there is Ash, as mentioned by Bill. . . yet, the mystique of maple continues unabated. G.
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